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Lighting in the Terrarium

As cold-blooded animals, terrarium animals are far more de
pendent on light, i.e. the quality and intensity of light, than
warm-blooded vertebrates. Activity, feeding, digestion or resting
phases are influenced by the alternation of day and night, and especially by the intensity of light. Besides this, many terrarium animals
associate light with heat and seek light places in the terrarium in
order to „bask in the sun“. These considerations are especially important when choosing heating equipment for desert terrariums.

There
are differences in the yield and quality of light, depending on the light
source used. Fluorescent tubes, for example, provide a lot of light
with little heat production, whereas light bulbs convert a major share
of the energy taken up into heat and only a small share into light.
The question as to which quality of light is best suited for a specific
terrarium is easy to answer if we take a look at nature: For millions of
years, plants and animals have been adapting to what the sun sends
down to the earth in a long evolutionary process. If we look at the
spectrum of sunlight (meaning the part of solar radiation that is visible
to us), we recognise a very even distribution of all spectral colours.
For this reason, lamps for terrariums should have a spectrum that
is as close to being balanced and without gaps as possible. At the
same time, all of the plants and animals will be able to exhibit their
full natural brilliant colouring.

Metal halide lamps (Luce diurna con UV-B) are the
top choice for animals requiring sunlight, ultraviolet light (i.e. diurnal
animals) and heat. They offer a full spectrum that is sunlight simulating, including UV-A and B radiation, along with heat emission for
the terrarium. Accordingly, the temperature in the terrarium decreases after the lamps are switched off, thereby simulating the desired
night-time drop in temperature. The JBL L-U-W lamps are available inthree different wattages and two versions, depending on whether the
animals require a lot of UV (JBL ReptilDesert L-U-W Light alluminio) or less
UV (JBL ReptilJungle L-U-W Light alluminio).

UV-light, specifically in the UV-A and UV-B ranges, also plays a significant role in terrarium lighting. Depending on their origin, terrarium animals require more UV light or less for their well-being. UV-B
stimulates Vitamin D3 synthesis from the Vitamin D2 precursor. UV-A
stimulates pigmentation. It is important to take into account that the
glass absorbs around 50 % of the UV radiation, so that the lamps
should always be installed inside the terrarium. The distance between
the light source and the animal is another important factor: There
is information directly on the lamp indicating how much radiation is
emitted at which distance from the lamp. If the terrarium is high, the
animals can get closer to their UV source if they are provided with
something to climb up on.

The following applies to animals that require UV: These animals will
not stay healthy if fluorescent tubes are used, even if they emit UV
radiation! It is imperative for a UV spot lamp or an L-U-W lamp to be
mounted additionally. When using metal halide lamps, one must also
bear in mind that they may/can only be operated with special electronic ballasts (JBL TempSet Unit L-U-W).